Daimler India Commercial Vehicles (DICV), the hundred percent Indian subsidiary of the Daimler AG, recently launched its light-duty range of trucks under the BharatBenz brand at its manufacturing facility in Oragadam near Chennai. The three light-duty BharatBenz trucks - 914 and 1214 for the haulage segment and 1217 for the construction segment - will now be commercially available through a growing number of state-of-the-art dealerships.

"I am extremely happy with the excitement Daimler India is creating with BharatBenz in Indian trucking. In fact, the entire Daimler truck world is watching this new brand with interest. A new market, new brand, new products and a great team. India is not just one more market for Daimler. Today, along with China, it is one of the most promising markets. Daimler Trucks has everything needed to take these markets to newer levels in trucking," said Dr Albert Kirchmann, President - MFTBC and Vice-Chairman, DICV. Since the launch of BharatBenz, a new dedicated brand for trucks in India, DICV has gone through an intense process of selection of the right platforms and developed a whole new supplier network to supply high quality and reliable parts. The light-duty trucks are based on the FUSO Fighter for the chassis and FUSO Canter for the cab, well-established Daimler Trucks technical platforms.

However, the focus on rigorous testing, a key Daimler advantage with its world-wide experience, has seen these trucks cover more than 7.5 million test kms along with other platforms. The confidence derived from such testing is the backbone of the BharatBenz promise of best-in-class trucks.

Georg Weiberg, Head - Product Engineering, Daimler Trucks, Germany, said, "It is an obligation for us and our Brand BharatBenz, to ensure the customers will be as happy with these trucks as with our Heavy-duty Trucks. Our focus was to create a Truck with superior performance, efficiency and the best quality but at a very competitive price. To achieve this, we involved our German/Japanese Engineers for their technology experience and Indian engineers for their local expertise and ability to create cost-conscious solutions".

"In September 2012, we delivered our first promise through our heavy-duty trucks. We are extremely encouraged by the highly positive feedback and through repeat orders. Today is another important milestone for DICV and BharatBenz. Our light-duty trucks will add a new dimension to reliable trucking by being very fuel-efficient along with superior driving dynamics," said Marc Llistosella, Managing Director and CEO, DICV. BharatBenz offers value-for-money trucks with a strong focus on Total Cost of Ownership (TCO). The proven fuel efficiency of BharatBenz trucks is a major advantage, especially in the current day scenario where fuel prices are sky-rocketing. These trucks boast of fuel efficiency that is a minimum of 10 per cent better, in comparison to existing products in the market.

The light-duty trucks, based on the FUSO Fighter/Canter platform, have been localised to suit specific needs of Indian customers, featuring the 4D34i four-cylinder CRDi (Common-rail Direct Injection) engine with 140 hp (100 kW) and 170 hp (125 kW), for the rigid and tipper models, respectively. The focus of these trucks are on "high fuel efficiency", "cabin comfort" and very importantly "cabin safety".

BharatBenz trucks are now available through an expanding state-of-the-art dealership network. This network will offer complete sales consulting, 24x7 after-sales service with advanced interactive vehicle diagnostics, roadside assistance for best service reach, leading to the lowest turnaround time in our workshops. These dealerships also provide tailor-made financial services/service packages - ensuring comprehensive attention to our customers - all under one roof. LOIs have already been issued for setting up these facilities in over 100 locations in the country, covering the most prominent trucking routes and hubs. Backed by the financial power and expertise of Daimler's financial arm - Daimler Financial Services - customers benefit from the captive financier under the name of 'BharatBenz Financial'.